Musings with Father Daniele

06/09/2026

TWENTY-THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME-A

• Freedom is something that we greatly value…….we often talk about it……..but do we ever think about it?
• Today—examining the scriptural readings—it seems that the Lord wants us to think about it…..so here goes…..
o There are three types of freedom.
 First, freedom from physical restraint……..Nazi concentration camps during World War II violated this type of freedom…..people were unfairly forced to leave their homes and work to the death at forced labor……
 The second type of freedom is freedom from psychological pressure…..if someone threatens to burn down your house unless you give him $10,000, he is doing psychological violence to you--forcing you to harm yourself in one way in order to avoid being harmed in a worse way……
o In healthy societies, both of these freedoms are protected by the rule of law……but there is a third type of freedom—it is not a freedom from--but a freedom for…..this freedom for……. is called moral or spiritual freedom…..and it is an ability built into every human heart…..if used well, it helps us become excellent human beings, wise and honorable…..if we misuse it, we become self-centered, frustrated, and even destructive human beings……this freedom matters most to Jesus.
• In the first reading today we hear the following from the Prophet Ezekiel: “If I tell the wicked, ‘O wicked one, you shall surely die,’ and you do not speak out to dissuade the wicked from his way, the wicked shall die for his guilt, but I will hold you responsible for his death. But if you warn the wicked, trying to turn him from his way, and he refuses to turn from his way, he shall die for his guilt, but you shall save yourself.”
• Our individualistic post-modern culture suggests that what we do is our business—especially if we do not think we are hurting another—are being tolerant and kind……
• But our faith reminds us that the Church--like the watchmen in today's First Reading….like the disciples in today's Holy Gospel…..the Church continues this mission…….in our world the Church prophetically speaks out….. patiently and tirelessly warning us against seductive dead-end roads that the world presents…..and inviting us to forge ahead on Christ's path of self-forgetful love.
• So, you see……the choices we make every day…..in little things and big things…. matter……

o There are two choices where moral freedom comes into play.
 The first kind of choice is right vs. wrong…..the difficulty here is not usually in identifying what is right…..and 90% of the time, we know - if we are honest with ourselves and have not deformed our conscience - that it is wrong to lie, cheat, steal, gossip, waste time or money, to hold grudges, use po*******hy, have sexual affairs, or abuse drugs or alcohol.
• In these temptations, the hard part is not seeing what is right….it is choosing what is right.
 The second kind of choice is right vs. right.
• When we are in the cafeteria looking for a friend to sit next too……and we see the new kid…..the unpopular kid--sitting all alone--we are faced with a dilemma…..e were looking forward to talking with our friend about a project……but it would mean a lot to the new kid if someone reached out to him…..two good options…..in these situations, the hard part is not doing what is right - both are good – it is knowing which to choose.
• Whether choosing right vs. wrong or right vs. right…..our choices matter…..because God has given us the precious gift of spiritual freedom……let us ask Jesus to help us use it well - every single day.

30/08/2026

TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME-A

• As Christians…..as Catholics…..we have become quite accustomed to the crucifix…..they are front and center in our churches…..we hang them upon the walls of our homes……many of us wear them on chains around our necks…..it is easy for us to assume that this was always the case……
• But the first centuries of Christians witnessed many crucifixions……they were so horrified by it that the crucifixes we now routinely hang in homes, schools, churches did not really start to appear until the sixth century A.D.
• You see……crucifixion was capital punishment in Rome…..and crucifixion was most frequently used to punish political or religious agitators, pirates, slaves, or those who had no civil rights…….it was cruel and public so that those who saw it knew that this could happen to you if you defy the system……
• Christ’s crucifixion was what eventually ended it as a form of capital punishment in the Roman empire….and the emperor Constantine--out of veneration for Christ-- abolished it in the early fourth century A.D.
• For early Christians, the crucifixion was symbolized in religious art and iconography by the image of a lamb or by a jeweled cross…..it was only later in time that the crucifix—as we know it today—with the Body of the agonizing Jesus became popular….and the crucifix shows the suffering that Jesus humanly endured……a path to eternal life that it shows us even today…..
o My dear friends in Christ: we are reminded that our relationship with God is not based on external rituals alone……it is based on an internal identity…..and this truth can help us understand one of life's great mysteries: the cross.
o In today’s Holy Gospel Jesus reminds us: "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?”
o Jesus does not promise that following him will lead to a problem-free life……that is what all the pagan religions—new age spiritualities claim to offer - external rituals with external benefits…..they claim that the right rituals, charms, and spells will remove life's sufferings from your agenda…..and that is an empty promise.
• In this fallen world, no one can avoid suffering and loss.
• We must remember that sin is a reality……..sin--both original sin and personal sins that we commit-- has turned life on earth from a garden of paradise into a battlefield between good and evil…..and Jesus promises that at the end of history the battle will come to its conclusion, and he will "wipe away every tear" and put an end to evil, suffering, and death……but in the meantime, he does not save us by taking away the cross….He saves us precisely by taking up the cross.

• Jesus showed his love for the Father….Jesus showed his love for us by voluntarily suffering and dying on the cross, paying the price for our sin……and when we unite our sufferings to his--through faith and prayer--we plug into his own saving love…..this gives our crosses internal meaning…..even though externally they remain painful.
o My dear friends in Christ: as you gaze upon the crucifix….here in church….in your homes…..as you touch the crucifix around your neck…..be reminded that our crosses too, then, become part of the "living sacrifice" and "spiritual worship" that please God…..reverse sin…..and spread God's grace.
o Jesus has redeemed the world—he even turns our crosses-- our sorrows --into paths of salvation….let us not hinder Him……

23/08/2026

HAPPY SUNDAY

Change is natural if not always smooth as we move from one phase of life to another. The month of...

16/08/2026

SOLEMNITY OF THE ASSUMPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY-C

Today we celebrate a path that we’re all called to walk: from here to Heaven. We celebrate Mary’s assumption, body, and soul, into Heaven after her time upon this world. Mary received the grace to be body and soul in Heaven along with her son. The other just souls that have preceded us are in Heaven, but they’re separated from their bodies until the Last Day when Our Lord raises everyone from the dead in the Last Judgment. Our Lord ascended into Heaven in glory; Our Blessed Mother was assumed into Heaven.
The First Reading today reminds us that Apocalypse and Revelation are synonymous.
• The apostle John had years to reflect on Mary’s Assumption, and in the First Reading, he tries to express her role in the Church yesterday, today, and forever.
• She is clad in the sun: in Revelation, the justified is simply clad in white, but Mary’s brilliant clothing shows the graces she’d received from God are even more dazzling.
• The moon is under her feet: as the most perfect creature, the heavenly bodies are subjected to her, not the other way around.
• Crowned with twelve stars: the queen of the apostles and the mother of the Church in the order of grace.
• Totally beyond the dragon’s power: it can sweep the stars from heaven, but it cannot defeat the mother of God or her mission to be the mother of the Redeemer and our mother.
• When the Jew’s Kingdom in this world, under Saul, then David, then Solomon fell flat, they looked forward to a Kingdom of the future, but the future Kingdom they had in mind wasn’t much different from the Kingdom they dreamed for in the here and now.
• Christ showed them the “Kingdom at hand,” and it wasn’t what they expected. It was a Kingdom only seen by faith, starting here and now in this world, and only achieving its full glory in the world to come.
In today’s Second Reading St. Paul reminds us that Christ was the first fruits of the definitive victory over death that was to come.
• In the end, “[Our Lord] hands over the Kingdom to his God and Father, … For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet … the last enemy to be destroyed is death.”
• The Assumption is God’s reminder of that victory to come. Whether Mary died at the end of her time on earth is not clear, but the decay of death did not spoil her. Taken up body and soul into Heaven, her Son’s final victory was shown in her.
• Through Mary’s fiat her desires for the Kingdom, which she sings for in the Magnificat, coincide perfectly with that reality to come, and she accepts it and strives for it with total faith.
• Mary was no spared little flower. When the Kingdom took flesh in her womb she had Joseph to contend with, a flight to Egypt, thirty years of silence in Nazareth, three years seeing how many people did not accept her Son’s message, then Calvary and her greatest commission: to be the mother of the apostles and of the whole Church.
• She’s continuing that mission, body, and soul, from Heaven, showing us what is to come as long as we keep working and hoping.
In today’s Gospel Elizabeth rejoices that her cousin had come to visit, not just because she was glad to see her kin, but because Mary is aglow with accepting the invitation to become the Mother of God.
• John leaps in the womb at the presence of Jesus in Mary’s womb. Their missions are closely linked.
• Elizabeth blesses Mary because she “believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.”
• Mary was extraordinarily blessed because she believed in the Lord, and in the Assumption, we see that she believed in the Lord throughout her earthly life and beyond.
• Mary doesn’t take credit. She glorifies the Lord with her canticle, and now she does so in eternity.

09/08/2026

HAPPY SUNDAY!
Good Morning!!!
I highly recommend that you try to incorporate the Liturgy of the Hours into your daily prayer. At least Lauds (Morning Prayer), Vespers (Evening Prayer) and Compline (Night Prayer). There are compact volumes containing only these Hours as well as more complete volumes containing all the Hours. A new translation will soon be available in the US. I highly recommend you speak with your confessor or parish priest and seek to incorporate this great prayer into your personal prayer life

https://catholicexchange.com/how-to-pray-a-psalm/
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I remember when, after years of praying the Liturgy of the Hours, I first began to explore how to pray the psalms. I should have done this much earlier! Once

02/08/2026

HAPPY SUNDAY

The very ancient chapel, venerated for an apparition of angels within it, was originally property of the Benedictines of Subasio. It was located on a piece of land known as the Porziuncola; this name became attached to the chapel.After a long period of abandonment, it was restored by St. Francis. He...

01/08/2026

28/07/2026

https://youtu.be/kjraWcm28Dc

Le 24 juin 1981, six jeunes de Medjugorje affirment avoir vu la Vie...

26/07/2026

HAPPY SUNDAY

Forming Apostles for the Church and for the World.

21/07/2026

From the earliest days following the Resurrection, the Church has believed that Mary was a perpetual virgin, and that Jesus had no biological brothers or sisters.

Read the full story: https://ow.ly/uOuQ50ZqVnT